Malik Monk trade chatter around Sacramento cooled as the Kings aren’t actively shopping him and weigh paths to open backcourt minutes for Russell Westbrook without moving Monk. Monk’s $18.8 million cap hit this season complicates anything, while Westbrook could land at veteran minimum if a path opens in SAC.

Kuminga’s name surfaced in a potential sign-and-trade that never materialized, leaving Monk in place to anchor guard depth. Sacramento eyes frontcourt help and roster flexibility ahead of training camp, with Sabonis and LaVine’s futures cited as ongoing questions. In short, the market may heat up again at camp, but for now Monk remains a Kings asset and Westbrook remains a possible alternative rather than a swap centerpiece.

Nikola Jokic is in Europe for EuroBasket, turning Serbia into one of the gold favorites as the calendar flips to late August. The tournament runs Aug. 27 through Sept. 14 across four groups of six, with Serbia headline Group A alongside Czechia, Estonia, Latvia, Portugal, and Turkey. Serbia’s path should be manageable, but the 24-team field is deep, demanding top-tier performances from Jokic and a cohort of EuroLeague veterans and NBA role players to survive the round-robin and the knockout grind. Courtside 1891 and FIBA YouTube will carry the action, giving fantasy enthusiasts a steady stream to monitor Jokic’s usage and his teammates’ rising impact.

Beyond Jokic, Serbia benefits from a staff deeply intertwined with the Nuggets—assistant coach Ognjen Stojakovic and athletic trainer Jason Miller are on Serbia’s sideline. The roster also features Jokic teammates and peers who could swing fantasy levers: Bogdan Bogdanovic, Nikola Jovic, and Nikola Topic join Jokic in shaping Serbia’s attack, while other European standouts and a newly added Nuggets presence add intrigue. The group stage introduces notable clashes—Latvia’s Kristaps Porzingis headlines a Group A that tests Serbia’s depth, and Turkey’s Alperen Sengun poses a direct Jokic-sized matchup, raising intriguing dynamic questions for fantasy managers tracking minutes, usage, and matchup-driven ceilings.

EuroBasket’s depth is built to test rosters and expose sleepers: Lauri Markkanen and Germany’s Franz Wagner anchor Group B; Giannis Antetokounmpo brings Greece’s star power in Group C alongside a younger Spain and rising Italians, with Domantas Sabonis and Jonas Valanciunas squarely in the mix for Lithuania and New Orleans. The mix of NBA stars and Euro stars means daily fantasy managers should keep a close eye on minutes allocations, rest days, and the tactical emphasis each nation brings to the court. Jokic’s Serbian run is as much about preserving pace and health for Nuggets fans as it is about adding a high-variance, high-ceiling narrative to late-summer rosters.

Jimmy Butler lands at No. 40 in NBA 2K26 with an 87 overall rating, his lowest since NBA 2K16 and a notable dip from the 90s he had in recent years. The Warriors’ late-season acquisition of Butler is reflected in a 35-game sample last season, where he averaged about 17.9 points, 5.9 assists and 5.5 rebounds per game. Butler shares the 87 rating with Amen Thompson, Derrick White, Ivica Zubac, Zion Williamson, Darius Garland, LaMelo Ball, Alperen Sengun and Domantas Sabonis at a slate of 87s, highlighting a crowded mid-80s tier among top stars. The countdown emphasizes the shifting value of veteran scorers and the evolving fantasy landscape as 2K26 climbs toward September’s release date.

The piece situates Butler’s rating in a broader context: a historic stretch of 90+ ratings earlier in his career, the impact of a midseason trade, and the way 2K26’s top 100 framing positions a mix of established veterans and rising talent. For fantasy managers, Butler’s rating suggests cautious optimism—elite scoring with questions about durability and health-driven minute volatility—and underscores the importance of roster construction around a player whose role could swing with the Warriors’ mix of veterans and younger contributors.

Rick Carlisle signed a multiyear extension with the Indiana Pacers after guiding the franchise to its first NBA Finals appearance in a quarter-century. At 65, Carlisle is the NBA's oldest active head coach and sits at 993-860 in the regular season, on track to reach 1,000 wins early next season, making him the 11th coach in league history to hit that mark. The deal signals stability as Indiana pivots around its core, notably after the Sabonis-Haliburton swap that reshaped the roster.

Indiana’s Finals run followed the Sabonis-for-Haliburton trade, which freed Haliburton to blossom and helped Sabonis land in Sacramento. The Pacers dispatched Milwaukee, Cleveland and New York to reach the Finals, then pushed Oklahoma City to seven games in a series that ended with Haliburton suffering a torn Achilles and sidelining him next season. Marc Stein initially reported the extension, underscoring Carlisle’s ongoing influence and leadership within the league’s coaching fraternity.

The broader NBA landscape is shifting as Gregg Popovich, Tom Thibodeau and others face exits or transitions, while Carlisle’s ascent as a premier tactician and NBCA president reinforces Indiana’s commitment to a long-term vision. This extension not only cements Carlisle’s place among the sport’s coaching elite but also has immediate implications for fantasy buyers who will be watching how Indiana leverages its guard-heavy, playmaking backbone in the post-injury environment.